Trumbles Gatwick B&B: the complete traveller's guide
A Victorian family-run B&B in Charlwood with a VisitEngland 4-Star Silver Award, holiday parking at £4–£5 a day, and its own electric minibus to the airport. The regulars keep coming back — but you must tell them you're leaving the car.
Parking here is excellent value but not free. A guest was surprised by the fee, and the owner explained publicly that they don't advertise free holiday parking anywhere — and because the guest hadn't mentioned on their booking that they intended to leave the car, they weren't quoted the parking charge in advance.
Say so when you book. Rates run about £4–£5 per day — among the cheapest near Gatwick — but you'll only be told the price if you ask for it.
Hotel overview
Trumbles is a Victorian house in an elevated position in open countryside, in the village of Charlwood near Horley. It's run by a family — owners David and Julia are named constantly in reviews — with six to eight spacious en-suite bedrooms, two of which have kitchenettes.
What makes it work is that it's purpose-built around flying. The airport is a 10-minute drive, but the house is not under the flight path, so guests consistently describe it as peaceful. There's on-site holiday parking at roughly £4–£5 a day, and — uniquely in our entire Gatwick series — the B&B runs its own electric minibus to and from the airport.
It holds a VisitEngland 4-Star Silver Award, a genuine third-party quality grading that almost nothing else in this series carries. The reviews are dominated by repeat guests on their third or fourth stay, which is usually the most reliable signal there is.
| Location | Charlwood, near Horley, Surrey — confirm exact address when booking |
|---|---|
| Building | Victorian house, elevated, in open countryside |
| Rooms | 6–8 spacious en-suite bedrooms; 2 with kitchenettes |
| Accreditation | VisitEngland 4-Star Silver Award |
| Distance to Gatwick | 10-minute drive; not under the flight path |
| Transfers | Own electric minibus — to Gatwick 24 hrs; from Gatwick 06:00–22:00 |
| Parking | ~£4–£5 per day — declare at booking |
| Breakfast | Cooked, served in a sunny conservatory |
| Village | Charlwood within walking distance — pubs and restaurants |
The VisitEngland 4-Star Silver Award
Worth pausing on, because it's unusual. Most properties in our Gatwick series rely purely on guest review scores; Trumbles holds a formal VisitEngland grading of 4-Star with a Silver Award.
| What it is | An independent national quality assessment, inspected rather than crowd-sourced |
|---|---|
| The Silver Award | Awarded on top of the star rating for properties scoring highly on quality within their category |
| Why it matters | It's a check on consistency — a guarantee of standards independent of who happened to review last month |
| Alongside | The property also cites consistently high praise on review sites |
For a small B&B this is a meaningful differentiator. Where Little Foxes shows wildly split reviews and Flexistay Ambers has an 8% bad-experience tail, an inspected grading suggests the floor is higher here — and the repeat-guest pattern in the reviews supports that.
The electric minibus — unique in our series
No other property we've covered near Gatwick runs its own electric minibus. Here are the hours, which differ by direction:
| Direction | Availability | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| To Gatwick | 24 hours | Trumbles' own electric minibus |
| From Gatwick | 06:00 – 22:00 | Electric minibus |
| From Gatwick, 22:00–06:00 | By taxi — arranged for you | Taxi (extra cost) |
Read the directions carefully. Outbound is the easy one — a 24-hour service to the airport covers even a 4 AM departure. The constraint is coming back: if you land between 10 PM and 6 AM, the minibus isn't running and you'll need a taxi. Guests describe the transfer service as prompt and faultless, and one noted the team even moved their car back to the front ready for departure. Note that an older listing described the minibus as running 06:00–22:00 in both directions, so confirm current hours when booking.
Parking rates
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rate | Approximately £4–£5 per day, stated publicly by the owner |
| One week | Roughly £28–£35 at that rate |
| Two weeks | Roughly £56–£70 |
| Free parking? | No. The owner states plainly they don't advertise free holiday parking anywhere |
| Critical step | Tell them at booking that you intend to leave the car, or you won't be quoted |
| Care of vehicles | Cars are moved and looked after — see the battery story below |
At £4–£5 a day this sits alongside Flexistay Ambers (£5/day) as the cheapest published parking in our Gatwick series — against £20–£27 a night at hotels near the terminals. The only reason it's caused friction is expectation: guests who didn't mention leaving the car weren't told the price in advance.
Rooms & prices
Six to eight bedrooms depending on source — the property's own site says eight — all with full en-suite facilities, and two with kitchenettes. Guests describe them as spacious, with crisp white linen and comfortable beds. Ranges below are indicative.
| Room type | Features | Sleeps | From (indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double En-suite | Spacious, crisp white linen, countryside outlook | 2 | ~£85 |
| Twin En-suite | Two beds, full en-suite | 2 | ~£90 |
| Room with kitchenette | Self-catering facilities — only 2 available | 2 | ~£95 |
| Family / larger room | Confirm configuration directly | 3+ | ~£110 |
Be clear-eyed on price: Trumbles is not the cheapest room in our series — Little Foxes starts around £35. What you're paying for is the inspected quality grading, the transfers, and a standard of care the reviews bear out. One guest raised weak shower pressure; the owner's response is covered below.
Breakfast & the conservatory
| Where | A sunny conservatory overlooking the terrace, garden and surrounding countryside |
|---|---|
| What | Cooked breakfast — praised repeatedly as "jolly good", "super" and "excellent" |
| Flexibility | Available "if you need it" — arrangements suit flight times |
| Guest lounge | Available for relaxing |
| Garden | Guests welcome to use it in warmer weather |
| Village | Charlwood within walking distance — pubs and restaurants, including the local Half Moon |
Breakfast is one of the most consistently praised things about Trumbles, and having a proper guest lounge and conservatory puts it ahead of properties like Oldlands Farm, where a guest found nowhere communal to sit and eat.
Facilities & services
| Transfers | Own electric minibus — to Gatwick 24 hrs, from Gatwick 06:00–22:00, taxi outside those hours |
|---|---|
| Parking | On-site holiday parking, ~£4–£5/day; cars actively looked after |
| Breakfast | Cooked, in the conservatory |
| Communal areas | Guest lounge, conservatory, garden, terrace |
| Rooms | All full en-suite; 2 with kitchenettes |
| Setting | Elevated, open countryside; not under the flight path |
| Accreditation | VisitEngland 4-Star Silver Award |
| Nearby | Charlwood village pubs; Gatwick Aviation Museum; Lowfield Heath Windmill |
| Not available | No pool; no gym; no restaurant beyond breakfast |
The owners — and how they respond to criticism
We usually judge management by how they handle complaints rather than compliments. Trumbles gives an unusually clear example.
When a guest complained about weak shower pressure, the owner replied that in twelve years at Trumbles they'd had no previous complaint about that shower — then added that they're always looking to improve, and would look into fitting a pump to increase the pressure. In the same reply they explained the parking-fee misunderstanding factually, without hostility.
That's a model response: it corrects the record, concedes what's fair, and commits to a fix. Compare it with Four Points by Sheraton, where a visitor's £100 parking charge drew a response they found unhelpful. Twelve years of continuous ownership also tells you something — this isn't a property changing hands and standards every couple of years.
Accessibility & suitability for elderly guests
Helpful points:
- Door-to-door transfers in the hotel's own minibus — no navigating buses or car parks
- On-site parking immediately by the house
- Spacious rooms; guest lounge and conservatory at ground level
- Cooked breakfast served on site with flexible timing
- Small, owner-run property — the hosts are present and attentive
- Very quiet setting, away from the flight path
Worth confirming:
- It's a Victorian house and no lift is mentioned — ask about ground-floor rooms
- Accessible bathroom specifications aren't published
- The house is in an elevated position — check approach and any steps to the entrance
- Inbound transfers stop at 22:00 — late landings mean a taxi
Suitability verdict for elderly & less-mobile guests: promising, subject to a call. Door-to-door minibus transfers and attentive owner-hosts are exactly what helps, but an elevated Victorian house with no published lift needs a conversation about ground-floor rooms and steps. Given how responsive the owners appear, describe your needs and ask directly.
Insider details
Tell them you're leaving the car — at the time of booking
The single most useful thing on this page. Parking is £4–£5 a day, not free, and it isn't quoted automatically. The one documented complaint about it came from a guest who hadn't mentioned their intention to leave the car. Put it in your booking notes and you'll get a price up front.
They look after the cars, not just park them
A guest left their courtesy light on. While moving the car ready for their return, David found the battery flat and recharged it so they had a safe trip home. Another guest mentioned their car being moved to the front for departure. That's the difference between a car park and a family business.
Check the minibus direction and hours
To the airport is 24 hours; from the airport is 06:00–22:00, with a taxi arranged outside those times. If you're landing at 11 PM, budget for the taxi. Confirm hours when booking, as listings differ.
Not under the flight path
A specific, verifiable claim the property makes — and one guests repeatedly confirm by describing how peaceful it is. Ten minutes from the runway but quiet is a rare combination; compare Hookwood Lodge, where a guest sleeping with windows open was troubled by aircraft noise.
Two rooms have kitchenettes — ask early
Only two of the rooms have kitchenettes. If you want self-catering for a longer stay, request one specifically and book well ahead, since this is a small property.
The village is walkable
Charlwood is within walking distance, with pubs and restaurants — useful given there's no dinner service on site.
WiFi coverage & signal strength
WiFi provision isn't detailed in published listings for this property, and signal-strength-by-area information isn't available — confirm with hotel, or share guest reviews and we'll add specifics.
Practical information
| Location | Charlwood, near Horley, Surrey — confirm exact address and postcode |
|---|---|
| Rooms | 6–8 en-suite; 2 with kitchenettes — book ahead |
| Parking | ~£4–£5 per day; declare at booking |
| To Gatwick | Electric minibus, 24 hours |
| From Gatwick | Electric minibus 06:00–22:00; taxi outside those hours |
| Breakfast | Cooked, in the conservatory |
| Accreditation | VisitEngland 4-Star Silver Award |
| Setting | Not under the flight path; 10-minute drive to the airport |
Customer reviews
Dominated by repeat guests — the strongest signal a small property can have.
| Theme | What guests say |
|---|---|
| Loyalty | "This is the 3rd or 4th time we have stayed at Trumbles. We are never disappointed"; "Excellent as ever"; "Our 2nd stay" |
| Cleanliness | "Spotlessly clean"; "really clean"; "a good clean welcoming guesthouse" |
| Hosts | David and Julia named repeatedly — "excellent hosts", welcoming, "faultless service" |
| Breakfast | "Jolly good breakfast"; "super breakfast"; cooked breakfast consistently praised |
| Transfers | "Transport to Gatwick really good"; prompt; car moved to the front for departure |
| Parking | "We know our car will be safe"; battery recharged by the owner after being left flat |
| Criticisms | Shower pressure (owner investigating a pump); surprise at the parking fee when not declared at booking |
Pros & cons
Pros
- VisitEngland 4-Star Silver Award — inspected quality grading, rare in this set
- Own electric minibus; transfers to Gatwick available 24 hours
- Holiday parking at ~£4–£5 per day — among the cheapest near Gatwick
- Cars actively looked after — moved for departure, one battery recharged by the owner
- Cooked breakfast in a sunny conservatory; guest lounge
- Spacious full en-suite rooms; two with kitchenettes
- Not under the flight path — genuinely peaceful, 10 minutes from the airport
- Charlwood village walkable for pubs and restaurants
- Long-standing family ownership; exemplary responses to criticism
- Exceptional repeat-guest rate
Cons
- Parking isn't free and isn't quoted unless you declare it
- Inbound transfers stop at 22:00 — late landings need a taxi at extra cost
- Room rates higher than the budget guest houses nearby
- Only 6–8 rooms — books out; only 2 with kitchenettes
- One shower-pressure complaint (owner addressing it)
- Victorian house, elevated position; no lift mentioned
- No restaurant, pool or gym; WiFi detail unpublished
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FAQs
How much is holiday parking?
Around £4–£5 per day, stated publicly by the owner — roughly £28–£35 a week. Crucially it isn't free, and it isn't quoted automatically: you must mention when booking that you intend to leave your car, otherwise you won't be advised of the fee in advance.
Is there an airport transfer?
Yes — Trumbles runs its own electric minibus. Transport to Gatwick is available 24 hours, and from Gatwick between 06:00 and 22:00. Outside those hours a taxi is arranged for the return leg. Confirm current hours when booking, as listings vary.
Is it noisy from aircraft?
The property states it isn't under the flight path despite being a 10-minute drive from the airport, and guests consistently comment on how peaceful it is — one of its most frequently mentioned qualities.
What is the 4-Star Silver Award?
A VisitEngland quality grading. The property is inspected and rated 4-star, with a Silver Award given on top for scoring highly on quality within that category. It's an independent check on standards rather than a crowd-sourced score.
Do any rooms have kitchen facilities?
Yes — two of the bedrooms have kitchenettes. As there are only six to eight rooms in total, request one specifically and book well ahead.
Will my car be safe?
Guests are emphatic on this point. One reviewer noted the owner moved their car ready for their return, discovered the battery had gone flat because a courtesy light was left on, and recharged it so they could drive home safely. Another simply said, "We know our car will be safe."